More User Reviews:

The pour is cheap plastic black with minimal carbonation, as befitting a stout this close to midnight. Smells like that girl in college that you never could get: sweetness, chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, wow. I wonder how big the neck on the bottle is?

Pugachev’s Cobra: Barrel Roll #3 is downright decadent. Where to start? Usually the taste, but the mouthfeel on this is a DD, huge & full & satisfying. The taste is hot alcoholic bourbon, big baster of sweetened malts, molasses (one of the few beers I could have actually tasted it even if I hadn’t read the label). All top-notch & insistent. The mid-palate brings a softer focus of licorice, fudge, almost a bit of roast. The end is all barrel & richness. And for the love of all that’s holy, I could have drunk the entire bomber. Then another. Then at least part of another before I “fell asleep” on the couch. Upstairs? I wouldn’t venture it after 50+ ounces of this beast.

Wow. One of the best new beers I’ve had in some time, this ranks right up there with the all-time classics. A beer that hits all the notes of the elite. Fantastic. (1,292 characters)

Usually with beer this tough to get, I'm happy to have it once and move on. But this one, with its baker's chocolate / syrup combo, was just so incredible. You can really smell the bourbon, but I thought it didn't overpower the rest of the flavors, even it with being a recent batch. Light on the tongue, and a very dangerous level of smooth for such a high ABV. (362 characters)

Poured from the bottle into a snifter glass. Year 2013, December, Bottle 7255/8856.

Nice classic looking big imperial stout. Black walnut and very dark body color, a head of dark mocha espresso chocolate brown forms maybe a finger tall, but settles to a very dark same colored collar. Nice sheen top without being filmy and some nice legs compliment.

What an impressive nose on this. Big dark fruits on this sucker, dates raisins and figs, with a wonderful cigar smoke. Hints of charred oak, and cigar box cedar wood all over. Heat but not boozy. Chocolate angle somewhere between milk and dark. Just large and impressive, nearly perfection.

Palate is just surprisingly fruity and large in that respect. Good notes of charred wood, charcoal and smoke. Large fruit component that gets to plum/raisin and some juicy cherry quality. Warm kirsch almost sour cherries with big roast and schnapps controlled warmth that isn't gag inducing.. Carbonation is prickly but not distracting, but for a big barrel aged brew it comes off quite light but not watery. Some leafy chewy dried tobacco aftertaste to match also, but there's no real maple sweetness on this which honestly doesn't disappoint me.

Overall just a very impressive creation, and I love the bouquet on this beer immensely. (1,281 characters)

'15 (December release) measures in at 18.9%. That's an intensely high abv for any brew. Moreover, this beer is not simply laced with barrel age, it's swimming in it. While No. 3 definitely impresses me, I'm not exactly jonsen for another hit..maybe next year. Heat. All heat. The bourbon dominates my palate and masks many of the other flavors. Advice: six months is far from enough shelf life to harmonize this beer and fanout its heat. At least cellar till the next Christmas or New Years. As for appearance, I'm a little disappointed the foam was light and the head hardly had formation. Parabola (is it wrong to compare and name drop?), the specimen of its class, boasts of a thick mouthfeel and dense, foamy head. I did not encounter that in No. 3. The mouthfeel is actually thinner than expected, even a little run-of-the-mill, stout-like (reflective of lower abv's). I was hoping for something syrupier, since the description boasts of being brewed with maple syrup. Selling point: you won't find many a near 20% beers, and it is flavorful. Be patient and this beer will one day please the senses. (1,104 characters)

Was lacking the thick caramel head. Carbonation on this bottle was pretty low. Taste is good and seriously boozy. The 2014 release states 18.9% abv. Might be worth aging a bit but Good now if you like em fresh. Gave it a 4.25 on the overall even though the carbonation was below what I expected. (297 characters)

Thanks to bman113vr for sharing this bottle at bu11zeye's 10,000th rating tasting.

The beer pours a dark brown color with a tan head. The aroma is awesome. I get a ton of bourbon and raisins, as well as some chocolate and roasted malt. The flavor is just as good, with a ton of barrel-aged character such as oak, whiskey, maple and vanilla. There is also a load of roasted malt and chocolate. Thick mouthfeel and low carbonation. An excellent barrel-aged Russian imperial stout. Very glad I got to try this one. (513 characters)

1/7/15 draft @ Ale Arsenal. Pugachev's Cobra proves to continue to be one of the best barrel-aged stouts. Plenty of bourbon, vanilla, caramel notes in the nose. Palate is evident of the higher ABV this year, alcohol forward with nice roasted malt, caramel, chocolate, and bourbon. I could drink this all day, were it not for the 18.9% ABV. (343 characters)